Instrumentation for Aerospace Applications: Electronic-Based Technologies
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 2
Abstract
Throughout the 70-year history of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC), instrumentation engineers have provided measurement methods and devices necessary to support ongoing and future aeropropulsion research and development efforts. On occasion, routine instrumentation approaches are perfectly suited for the task at hand. However, as propulsion components and systems become more complex through the incorporation of new materials and higher temperature operation, modifications to traditional instrumentation methods or entirely new methods are necessary. This paper provides a glimpse of the core electronic-based instrumentation methods developed throughout the years to measure temperature, strain, pressure, heat flux, and chemical gas species and describes how these methods are evolving to meet the instrumentation challenges of high-performance propulsion systems. It is clear that future aeropropulsion systems will operate at higher temperatures and require more onboard electronics for health monitoring and control functions. For this reason, a significant effort in high-temperature electronics based on the wide-bandgap semiconductor silicon carbide was initiated and has demonstrated several world’s first electronic sensors and devices operating at 600°C. It is concluded that electronic-based sensors and devices will continuously be pushed to meet the needs of increasingly harsher environment measurements.
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Acknowledgments
Many colleagues supported this publication effort. Interviews with retired instrumentation specialists Austin C. Herr, D. Robert Englund, Raymond Holanda, J. A. Powell, Arthur Decker, and John Pollack were especially informative and enjoyable. The contributions of Gustave C. Fralick and John D. Wrbanek are very much appreciated.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 2 • April 2013
Pages: 409 - 421
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 26, 2012
Accepted: Nov 21, 2012
Published online: Mar 15, 2013
Published in print: Apr 1, 2013
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